Although she was just a humble young woman from a small town, Mary's total "yes" to God was "the most important 'yes' of history" and overturned Adam and Eve's prideful "no," which unleashed sin into the world, Pope Francis said.

Hopes buoyed in the Diocese of Peoria by a Nov. 17 court ruling allowing Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen's family to transfer the sainthood candidate's remains from New York to Peoria were tempered by an emergency stay being granted to the Archdiocese of New York, which planned to appeal the ruling.

Catholic parishioners in the Diocese of Knoxville are among those who have lost homes and businesses in the wildfires that ravaged tourist areas in the Great Smoky Mountains region Nov. 29, said Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville.

In a video message, Cuban President Raul Castro announced the Nov. 25 death of his 90-year-old brother and longtime Cuban leader and Communist icon whom many in Latin America know by just one name: Fidel.

Faith & Family

Behind a makeshift altar standing in the shadows of a basketball hoop, Bishop David L. Ricken celebrated Mass in a gymnasium that could have been mistaken for any Catholic school gym in the Diocese of Green Bay.

Sports & Leisure

Evangelical Christian faith hovers in the background of the holiday-themed drama "Believe" (Freestyle). Though not as rose-colored in its outlook as some religiously-inspired projects, the movie -- which is suitable for most age groups -- lacks polish.

Somewhere in the planning stages of "Incarnate" (BH Tilt), someone must have thought it would be a good idea to combine elements of Christopher Nolan's 2010 tour de force "Inception" with tropes that have been familiar to moviegoers at least since Linda Blair's head went spinning round in "The Exorcist" way back in 1973.

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